Prevention & Control

By far, the best way to avoid Lyme disease is to be aware of the risk of tick bites and to act accordingly. The good news is that deer ticks usually do not transmit Lyme bacteria right away.

Click on the link below, “Ticks in Maine: What do I need to know?” for further information.

This informational video about ticks and tick prevention was produced by the MaineDOT to increase awareness among its many employees who work outdoors each day. The video features Maine Medical Center Research Institute’s Chuck Lubelczyk, Vector Ecologist, from the Vector Borne-Disease Laboratory.

Tick Prevention

Few people are infected before the tick has been feeding for 36 hours. Diagnosed in early stages, both Lyme disease and anaplasmosis are easily and effectively treated with oral antibiotics. If Lyme disease is unrecognized and untreated, it may progress to cause arthritis and neurological problems, but treatment is still usually effective.

Precautions to Avoid Tick Bites

Tuck your pant legs into your socks and your shirt into your pants when walking in woods, brush, or tall grass. Deer ticks attach to clothing and then walk upward.

Wear light-colored clothing so ticks may be seen more easily.

Use an effective repellent such as DEET or picaradin according to label directions — particularly on shoes, socks, and pant legs. Avoid applying high-concentration products to the skin, especially on children.

People who must be in areas where ticks are prevalent may pre-treat clothing with a permethrin-containing product which both repels and kills ticks. Use only as directed on the label.

Inspect yourself, your clothing, your children, your companion, and your pets for ticks when you get in from the field. Ticks often attach in body folds, behind ears and in the hair. Showering removes unattached ticks, and heating in a clothes dryer is effective in killing ticks.

When transporting pets or game, precautions should be taken to avoid bringing ticks into new areas.

How to Remove Attached Ticks [prompt removal is important]

Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible, preferably with fine tweezers, and pull gently but firmly until the tick releases.

Do not handle ticks with bare hands.

Clean the bite with soap and water and apply an antiseptic or antibiotic cream.

Save the tick in a small bottle of 70% alcohol for identification if needed

Consult your physician if you remove an engorged deer tick.

Note: Folklore removal methods such as burning with a match or applying vaseline or nail polish do not work and may increase the likelihood of infection. It has been demonstrated that a single oral dose of the antibiotic doxycycline, if given within 72 hours of removal of a deer tick, may provide effective prophylaxis for Lyme disease.

Vaccine
The LYMErix vaccine, which was approved in 1998 by the Food and Drug Administration for use in adults, is no longer available. The manufacturer withdrew the product from the market in February 2002, citing insufficient demand as the reason for their action. A new vaccine effective against both U.S. and European strains of Borrelia is being developed overseas.

Tick Control

To control deer ticks, an integrated approach is recommended which involves personal protection, landscape management and, where the risk is high, application of acaricides to tick habitat. An excellent and comprehensive review of tick IPM will be found in the “Tick Management Handbook“, prepared by the State of Connecticut.

Deer ticks thrive in bushy, deciduous habitats with leaf litter that provide the shade and moisture needed to protect them from fatal desiccation. Removal of shrubs, especially of barberry, honeysuckle and other invasive species, is a very important first step in controlling ticks around the home. Further control, particularly where ticks abound, may require the use of tick-killing pesticides (acaricides).

Where relatively small areas are to be treated, homeowners may use over-the-counter sprays or granular products, but lower concentrations of active ingredients and inadequate application force may limit their effectiveness.

For larger properties, a professional applicator with specialized equipment to mix and apply product with a high pressure hose sufficient to disturb the leaf litter will be the most effective choice